Out-of-range conditions of an amplifier typically occur when the amplifier's inputs are outside of the common mode input range or when the output voltage of the amplifier gets too close to the voltage level of either supply rail due to a load error or an overdrive condition. Depending on the particular application, an error indication is needed to signal such an out-of-range condition.
Traditionally, analog amplifiers have no detection and indication mechanism for out-of-range conditions. At best, a conventional method of detecting an out-of-range condition is to employ comparators that monitor the amplifier's input and/or output voltages and trip at a set voltage from the rail levels. Since, however, the criticality of the voltage at the conventional monitoring point depends largely on temperature and process variations, the threshold voltage must be set away from an ideal value, thereby reducing the useful operating range of the amplifier. Another problem is that, since the voltage at the monitoring point behaves linearly in the useful operating range, any inaccuracy of the comparator and reference source used in the detection circuitry contributes directly to the overall detection error. Consequently, a relatively wide error margin must be built into the system.